To tell the truth, not understanding the words is one of the things I like about Japanese music! I’ve a very lyrics-oriented person when it comes to music (most of my favorite bands, like Rush, are known for intelligent lyrics), and I also like to read a lot. Often I want to listen to music while I read. But the problem is that when the songs are in English I get distracted by the lyrics and have a hard time concentrating on what I’m trying to read. But when the songs are in Japanese, the singer’s voice becomes simply another musical instrument in the mix and I don’t get distracted.
Another benefit of not understanding the lyrics is that the emotions expressed by the music and the vocal delivery become much more apparent. Aiko is so good at musically expressing the emotions in her songs (and I also have to credit her pianist, who does the actual musical arrangements for the full band)* that, on the few occasions when I’ve been able to find an English translation, I’ve been astonished to discover that my impressions of the song’s emotional context were extremely accurate. Kabutomushi, the song I mentioned in the other thread, is a perfect example of this. Listening to the song, I got a very strong impression of grief and sorrow, but toward the end of the song there was a current of hope running underneath. So imagine my surprise when I found an English translation and discovered that the song is about a loved one who has died, and that the last verse includes the following lines:
If every powerfully sad thing remains in my heart,
then that’s proof that I was with you,
and I can think happily of it.
*aiko writes the lyrics and melody and comes up with a basic chord progression on the piano, and then her pianist takes that and expands it into a more complex arrangement for the full band.